The Magician's Nephew

Sixth book printed, first book chronologically.

I began re-reading the Narnia series after coming across a beautiful boxed set of all seven novels. Mainly this was out of nostalgia, as these were favourites when I was young, and I was interested to see how they held up as adults. I found them all to be written very clearly with provocative descriptive prose, and narrative that often draws the reader immediately into the story.

"The Magician's Nephew" is more clearly a children's tail than any of the other stories. In terms of construction is it relatively formulaic compared to the other novels, beginning with the children discovering strange rings which transport them to Narnia in its period of creation.

This is where the book differs from the others in the sequence. We get to see Narnia created from almost nothing, the birth or "arrival" of the godly Aslan, and the seeds of "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe" in particular. The Christian metaphors are laid on a little thickly here, but a child wouldn't notice them, nor would the allusions to Christ or Adam and Eve spoil their enjoyment. As an adult I found the story very readable, but sadly insubstantial compared to "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe" or "Prince Caspian".

7/10

Magical (11/11 people found this helpful)

This book is about the beginning of Narnia when two children Digory Kirke and Polly Plummer who are neighbours and they go through a secret passage which connects all the houses on their road. They unexpectedly go into Digory's Uncle Andrew's layer to discover that he is a magician. Andrew tricks Polly into wearing a yellow ring which takes her to the Wood between the Worlds and blackmails Digory into wearing the other yellow one and told him to put the green rings in his right pocket. Digory described the world as a plum cake because you could almost feel the trees growing and drinking the water with their roots. It felt so rich and magical. Polly and Digory found Jadis in the world of Charn who explained that the sun over the ancient city was old and because of that it was a dull red. When the children tried to return back to the Wood between the Worlds, Jadis grabbed Polly's hair and went with them back to Earth like that. When they got back to Uncle Andrew's office with Jadis, Andrew got some brandy from his secret supply and drank it. Uncle Andrew asked Aunt Lettie for some money to escort Jadis around London but she (Aunt Lettie) refused so he paid with his own money. Through the Wood between the worlds the children and Jadis go into Narnia where they see Alsan for the first time, as he sings life into Narnia. Alsan gives all animals except the horses the gift of speech.
7 - 13 year olds would be able to understand and enjoy this book's pleasure.

Magical "Nephew" (8/8 people found this helpful)

Every good story has a backstory. So in "The Magician's Nephew," C.S. Lewis backpedalled to tell us the story of how Narnia began, the origin of the White Witch, and various other little questions that popped up over the course of his Narnia series. The result is a tense, slightly comic prequel that neatly ties up the various loose threads.

Two London schoolchildren, Polly and Digory, meet and befriend one another, despite Digory's misery over his mother's fatal illness. But they fall prey to Digory's arrogant uncle Andrew -- Andrew has created some magical rings that transport the wearer to another world, and he wants the two as guinea pigs. Polly and Digory only narrowly manage to return from a dying world.

But they had an unwelcome passenger -- Jadis, an imperious sorceress who plans to take over the world. Polly and Digory are appalled at what has happened, and try to find some way of transporting Jadis elsewhere, using the magical rings. But when they do, they find themselves encountering a world that is just being created, by a strange lion -- the world of Narnia.

The Narnia stories are getting more attention in the months before the movie is released. And though it's unknown whether "The Magician's Nephew" is going to be on the silver screen, it's a valuable read for movie-watchers and readers alike. Basically, if "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" raised any questions, then this can answer them.

"The Magician's Nephew" serves as a neat way of explaining some very weird occurrances -- where did that lamppost come from? Or the Narnian humans? Just where did the White Witch come from, since she doesn't seem to fit in Narnia's springtime utopia? This book pretty much tells it all, as well as providing a character -- Digory -- who is a quiet but important presence fifty years later.

But "The Magician's Nephew" isn't just a way of dealing with loose threads. It's also an entertaining story, full of strange magic and eerie dead worlds. But Lewis also includes some comedy, when Jadis is running amuck all over London, or when Narnian animals try to plant and water Uncle Andrew. Lewis does get a bit hamhanded with the allegory of Jadis and an apple, but the fast, tense storyline makes up for that.

"The Magician's Nephew" is not just a prequel to the rest of the Narnia series, but an entertaining fantasy novel in its own right. Definitely a must-read for fantasy fans.

A Magical Magician (8/8 people found this helpful)

Have you got 2 rings that can take you into a different world?
Polly and Digory have. This story is about 2 children that put a yellow ring onto their finger and can go into another world. This world is called Narnia. Digory goes and finds Polly and takes a green ring with him which can take them back to their own world. Then they travel to a different world and meet a cruel queen. Will they escape with their lives?
My favourite character is Digory because he gets into mysterious situations and he's very brave.
My favourite part is when Polly wants the ring, Uncle Andrew gives it to her and she disappears into another world because it is full of suspense.
I would recommend this book to 7-12 year olds who like adventure stories because it is about children of their age going into different world's and it's very strange

Irratating but necessary (2/11 people found this helpful)

I have read all seven chronicles of narnia and this prequel to the lion the witch and the wardrobe is my least favourite of the lot. For me it is too full of stuffy description which tries far too hard to describe how Narnia came into being. For me Lewis has tryed to fit in a book describing how this land began, but never had a true passion for it and it does show. The action, when compared to the likes of the last battle, is slow and when an important event does happen it does not have the same resonance that one would hope for from a novelist of Lewis's calibre. The entire novel is based around the central characters of Polly and Diggory (The professor in the lion the witch and the wardrobe). It focusses on these two discovering a set of rings in Diggory's uncles room which end up transporting them into Narnia.
Although slow and bogged down with description the book is not without its merits. For one, to truly understand the nature of Lewis's narnia it is essential to resd this book. It describes the story of Jadis (The white witch) who ends up returning with Polly and Diggory to London whereupon she wreaks havoc. However, my personal reason for ever wanting to read this book was in order that I can read the part where Aslan breathes the life back into Narnia. This is where Lewis is at his best (See also my review of the last battle) and he is at his most intense as a novelist.
All in all I dislike this book, I feel that after you have read it once it should be put away leaving you free to concentrate your attentions on the other, far superior, books in the series. As my title does suggest though, to truly understand the nature of Narnia this book is essential reading.

The Magician's Nephew

C.S. Lewis

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